The death penalty—also known as capital punishment—refers to the process of state and federal courts sentencing persons convicted of the most serious criminal offenses (capital offenses or capital crimes) to death. The specific crimes and circumstances for which the death penalty is a potential punishment (usually murder) are defined by state and federal statutes enacted by state legislatures and the United States Congress, respectively.

These death penalty or capital punishment statutes are often located in the penal or criminal code, and often in the same statute that defines a criminal offense such as murder. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty as a potential punishment for any criminal offense.

In Arizona, the death penalty is a legal form of punishment for certain serious crimes, primarily first-degree murder with aggravating factors. The state's capital punishment laws are outlined in the Arizona Revised Statutes, particularly in Title 13 - Criminal Code. These statutes specify the criteria under which a defendant can be eligible for the death penalty, including the presence of statutory aggravating circumstances that make the crime more heinous. The decision to seek the death penalty is at the discretion of the county attorney. Arizona's methods of execution have traditionally included lethal injection and the gas chamber, with lethal injection being the primary method used in recent years. It's important to note that while Arizona still has the death penalty, there have been periods of de facto moratoriums on executions due to controversies over lethal injection protocols and the availability of drugs used in the execution process. As of the knowledge cutoff in 2023, the death penalty remains a legal sentence in the state of Arizona.